As you start the New Year and a new decade, it’s a good time to give your business success skills a quick check up. Do you have what it takes to get you where you want to go? As you review your tools and strategies, I’d like to suggest an area that many savvy business women overlook—and this error of omission costs them big. One of the most crucial skills for any thriving solopreneur or professional is the ability to take excellent care of herself. After all, aren’t you the most important asset your business possesses? I know what you may be thinking. Many of us entrepreneurs have so much on our plates that it’s impossible to get to it all, and often, self care or “me-time” is one of the first things to go. It’s not essential. It may feel self indulgent or you think it’s rather a luxury. You tell yourself you can get to it later. Not true.

Here’s what THRIVING business owners know (and many of us learned it the hard way). The way you care for yourself counts and it counts big. You can’t show up powerfully in your business or your life unless you are showing up powerfully for yourself. Taking care of YOU is not a luxury, it’s an essential part of a successful business plan.

Successful business owners spend time and energy on themselves. They prioritize their health. They manage their stress. They take time off—real time off. They play and sleep and make efforts to eat well. And it has an impact—not just on how they feel, but on how they work in their businesses. The cost of not making and taking time for yourself: Self care isn’t always easy. In fact, sometimes, carving out the space, time, and energy you need is really quite an art, but learning to do so is well worth the investment.

When we don’t take good care of ourselves:

• We have less energy
• We are more distracted and less focused
• Our stress level is higher
• Sleep can be impaired
• We may feel deprived, irritable, more easily frustrated, or impatient
• We are less creative
• Our health isn’t as good
• We tend to turn to “vices” to fill in the gaps that we aren’t filling with good stuff.

Stress eating, smoking, drinking too much, wasting time surfing the internet—these are a few things that tend to show up big, waste more time and energy, distract us, and immerse us in a vicious cycle of decreased productivity and reduced happiness. We’re simply not at our best. When we aren’t at our best, neither is our business. How can we possibly play our best game under these circumstances?

The answer, of course, is that we can’t. When we are stressed, overwhelmed, or not getting what we need, we tend to feel like we are playing catch up. It’s the feeling of running along behind your life and your business instead of the one of sitting securely in the driver’s seat. We tend to feel deprived—short on time, short on energy, even short on options. That is NOT the place from which one plays powerfully and big.

Stressed-out entrepreneurs risk thinking too small and making decisions from a place of limitation. Overwhelm is not an expansive place. When we are not taking good care of ourselves, we don’t feel at our best. We don’t shine. Guess what—people notice. When we are stressed or overwhelmed or feeling less than 100 percent, we tend to be reactive, not proactive. This can drastically affect the choices we make in our business. Finally, when we don’t feel we can “take the time,” it’s next to impossible to stop, take a calm step back, and get the perspective or “big picture” view that is so vital to creating a thriving business (and life).

What’s a busy business owner to do? If you recognize yourself, you are not alone. Falling off the self care wagon is one of the most common pitfalls for high-achieving, smart professional women. Knowing that this is a problem for you is the first powerful course-correcting move. It’s the only way that you can start to value and work on prioritizing the self care you really need.

About the Author:
Are you a smart, busy woman struggling with emotional eating, overeating,and balancing work and life? Claim your free psychologist-designed audio series: “5 simple steps to move beyond overwhelm with food and life.” Melissa McCreery, PhD, ACC, is a Psychologist, ICF Certified Life Coach,and emotional eating coach who specializes in providing smart resources to busy women struggling with food, weight and overwhelm.

You’ve been talking about pursuing your dream since high school. You’ve been stuffing a file with places you’d like to travel since you got your first job. You’ve envisioned what your boutique store would look like for years, even driving around searching for the perfect location, yet you’ve never taken that next step.

So, what’s stopping you?

In my coaching with clients they regularly share the obstacles that are stopping them from moving forward. At least fifty percent of the time, these items are perceived, not real.

Here’s a list of the most popular ones I’ve heard and how to avoid them:

1. I’m too old.

Years ago I heard the story of a 70-year-old woman who lifted a car off her grandchild and saved his life. When she was interviewed, instead of being ecstatic, she was melancholy and admitted that if she could lift a car to save a child what else might she have been able to do that she never tried. The interviewer asked her what she’d always wanted to do, but hadn’t tried. The grandma replied, “Go to college.” The interviewer challenged her, “So why not do it now?” And so she did.

You are only too old if YOU decide you are. There are lots of stories of older Olympians, older singers and older musicians-fields typically associated with youth.

2. It costs too much money.

I have found that most people who make this statement actually have no idea what the item in questions costs. They are operating on some notion that it’s above what they would be willing to spend. Or they are not open to creative solutions and assume that they must pay retail for what they want-be it a new car, travel, or a house. There are many innovative ways to get what you want (and no, they aren’t illegal!)

Don’t make this statement unless you know the exact cost and have made the decision that the cost for the value isn’t there.

3. My spouse/children/parents/etc. wouldn’t like it.

I’m surprised to hear adults say this statement, but I hear it more often than one might imagine. First, you really don’t know how someone will react until you actually take an action. In most cases, you are speculating as to how they would react or assuming they will react similar to ways they have in the past.

Second, are you living your life to make them happy or to make you happy? Of course, if you have a family you need to consider how your choices affect them, but not to the point that if they may be uncomfortable with your choice you give it up without seeking a compromise or resolution.

4. It’s too hard.

This statement is another one that is usually based on incomplete information or full out speculation. You don’t know how difficult something will be for you unless you try it. Nothing is impossible.

Stop pushing what you want away until you decide you don’t want it anymore.

5. I’m too fat.

* “I’m too fat to go out to networking meetings and market myself. Who would want to hire me?”
* “I’m too fat to take professional photos for my website.”
* “I’m too fat to get a date. No one will ever want to marry me.”

Admittedly, I’ve heard these declarations from women far more than men, but a few of my male clients have said it too in reference to why they think they may have gotten passed over for a promotion or not getting hired for a new job.

While I won’t say that weight discrimination may not be at play in some cases, the bigger obstacle is how you feel about yourself.

If you believe that you are fat and feel self-conscious you will present yourself differently. When you aren’t confident and someone else is-they will likely get the date or the job over you.

6. I’m not educated enough.

Bill Gates quit college before earning his degree. There are countless stories of high school children who have opened businesses that have hit a million in sales.

Education doesn’t equal success.

If what you want to do requires a higher level degree than what you possess, figure out a way to get it.

7. I’m too OR I’m not .

Are you seeing a pattern here? Search your language and see if you’re shutting yourself down by believing in a perceived obstacle.

If you are, stop now and go take an action to pursue your dream. These obstacles do not need to stop you from achieving success and fulfillment in life.

Think about the grandma who said that if she could do something she thought impossible at age 70, what else could she have done in her life, then ask yourself, “What could I do if only believed I could?”

About the Author:
© 2009 Leah Grant Enterprises LLC
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this entire blurb with it: New Business Mentor Leah Grant publishes Startup Success, a weekly ezine. If you’re thinking about starting a new business or are in the early phases of entrepreneurship, visit www.leahgrant.com Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Have you been dreaming of working at home for a long time now, but still haven’t figured out how to make it happen? The old saying is true, if you want your life to be different, you have to do something different.

Here are some things you can do to take positive action and make this the year you really do start to work from home.

1. Make a choice. What are you going to make money from home? A lot of people get stuck on this very first step. I think they’re overwhelmed by all their choices, and afraid of making the wrong one. The worst choice you can make is not to choose anything! If you choose to follow a work-at-home path and later on decide it wasn’t the right one for you, that’s not a mistake. It’s a learning experience, and an important part of learning how to work from home.

2. Start saving. Very few people who work at home make a profit immediately. Start saving now so you can afford to invest the time you need to get your work at home business up and running. You may even want to take a part time job so you can afford your startup expenses.

3. Build relationships with others who are working at home successfully. They may be in your community or online. Ask them what they’re days are really like, and for any advice they have for you. Knowing how others make it work may give you the kick-start you need.

4. Seek out quality information about working from home. Make sure your information comes from reliable sources, and has actually worked for the people who are giving it to you.

5. What has been keeping you back from working at home in the past? Do you have a fear you need to address? Are you lacking confidence? Or do you need to develop a skill? Evaluate what has held you back from making this move, and come up with a strategy to overcome it.

Let’s make this the year you start working from home too!

About the Author:
Denise Willms is a Publicity and Marketing Virtual Assistant and work at home mom of two teenagers. Do you want to know more about how you can work at home too? Visit www.wahm-articles.com and search for work at home articles on the topics you’re most interested in. While you’re there, go ahead and subscribe to the weekly WAHM Tips newsletter. You’ll get new WAHM expert articles delivered to your inbox each week!
Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Many who are already in the work from home industry know most of these terms but those who are just searching and have not understood all that is involved in working from home yet… will not know most of these. This is where educating yourself before searching for work from home is necessary to find what you are looking for. Especially if you want to avoid scams and wasted time on your search.

Below are a list of terms to know when you are searching for work from home or already work from home. This will make it much easier for when you need to disect a word you do not understand in the industry.

Affiliate – An Individual who partners to a product / service and promotes/markets it to others for a commission.

Article Writing – Someone who writes articles online to earn an income or build their opportunity.

Blog – A place where individuals can write and share anything they desire (similar to a journal). You can utilize blogs for personal, promoting, earning an income and/or growing on the internet.

Downline – People you recruit or those under you recruit into your Home Business, Network Marketing, Direct Sales or MLM Company whom are in your organization.

Freelancer – A person who enjoys working from home performing tasks on their own time. They provide services to those companies or individuals who need something done on a temporary basis.

Groups / Forums / Message Boards – A place online where you can network, meet others, socialize, get advice and participate with in the subject you are looking into. You can find these on many Social Networking websites and directly online. On Social Networking websites they are considered ‘Groups’ and directly online it is considered a ‘Forum / Message Board’.

Home-Based Business – Similar to a Direct Sales/Network Marketing company. Provides a service or product that allows you to work from your computer and phone. Without having to leave your home.

Independent Contractor – A person who is not an employee of the company, but provides a service for the company under a written contract or agreement. Also someone who is self-employed.

Multilevel Marketing/MLM – A binary or two leg system that allows others to grow a downline by placing people below each other. There are many forms of MLM systems.

Network Marketing – Networking/communicating online and sometimes offline with those who already work from home or those who are searching. Many home based companies are considered “Network Marketing”.

RSS – Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication is a format for delivering regularly changing web content. You will find this mostly on blogs.

Search Engine Optimization/SEO – The process of making a site and its content rank highly in search engines using keywords or keyword phrases relevant to a site’s content.

Telecommute – To work for a company from your home. Utilizing your phone, computer and/or fax.

Upline – In Home Based Businesses, Direct Sales, Network Marketing and MLM this is considered the person whom enrolled you, your Mentor, those on your team above you and your training support.

Virtual Assistant/VA – Works from home providing different services from admin, phone work, filing, faxing, communicating through email, assistance to the company that they are working for or provides a certain service to Clients as their own VA Home Business.

There are many other terms you might come across. The best you can do is educate yourself, research and make sure you completely understand a term before judging.

About the Author:
Jennifer May is a proud work-at-home Mom with Ameriplan® and also is the Founder/Owner of www.TheWAHMGuide.com. She has experienced years of searching for work from home and is now successful from this experience. She has made it her goal and purpose to help as many as she can find and grow work-at-home successfully. She also shares true work-at-home jobs, home based businesses, research, tips, advice, personal experience and more. She has a passion for helping others and changing lives! She shares extensive resources, listings, knowledge, advice and tips in her Work from Home Mom Website www.TheWAHMGuide.com.
Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

The Problem with Clutter

Did you start your workday with an already cluttered desk? If so, a recent survey conducted in the UK by Avery Dennison Worldwide Office Products indicates you weren’t the only one. More than half of the survey participants couldn’t remember the last time they saw their desks. But, does all this clutter really pose a problem? Sometimes it seems that cleaning up the clutter is more time consuming than working around it.

Clutter interferes with office productivity on a few different levels. First of all, clutter is a time waster in an already full day. Think of the wasted minutes and extra frustration spent sifting through piles looking for that document you had in your hands just yesterday. Secondly, a disorganized environment can leave your mind feeling cluttered too. Being surrounded by so many tasks all requiring your attention makes it difficult to focus on one task or to prioritize your projects properly. And finally, a job doesn’t feel finished until it’s cleaned up. Putting away a finished project provides a feeling of closure, freeing you to fully concentrate on your next task.

The Real Reason Your Desk Is Cluttered

Take heart! Despite your messy desk, you’re not lazy, nor are you a slob. Habit, time management, and your office furniture are all culprits when it comes to desk clutter.

You may be able to place the blame for your cluttered desk on your office furniture! A small desk can feel cluttered just by spreading out your current project. Or, you may not have enough shelving for the books you refer to throughout your day, leaving you no choice but to pile them on your desk. Do you have enough filing cabinets and are they easily accessible? If not, extra files will end up on, you guessed it, your desk. Appropriate office furniture and enough storage space are essential to maintaining a clutter-free work environment.

Almost everyone procrastinates on tasks that we don’t like to do. If certain types of routine work regularly accumulate on your desk, it’s usually work you don’t enjoy doing or that you don’t have time to do. You may need to reexamine your workflow and give these tasks to someone else in your office who either likes these tasks or has more time for them than you do. If that’s not possible, consider outsourcing these specific tasks to a virtual assistant or someone who specializes in that type of work. You may even want to enlist the help of a professional organizer to help you find more efficient ways of working.

Most often, clutter is simply a habit. It’s easy to fall into the habit of leaving items lying on your desk and not taking the time to put them away. If habit is the cause of your clutter, you can break the clutter cycle by establishing new habits and new daily routines.

Now that you have examined the real reasons your desk is cluttered, it’s time to do something about it. The following steps will lead you to a cleaner desk and help you make changes that will prevent your desk from becoming so cluttered again.

Easy Steps to Decluttering

Small changes made each day will ease the decluttering process as well as establish new habits. For the next five days, take five to fifteen minutes out of your workday to work on one part of your clutter. By the end of the five days, you will have a clean desk and will be on your way to establishing new habits and daily routines.

Day 1

Congratulations on your decision to declutter!

For today, simply determine if your office furniture is suitable for your needs. For example, if you normally work with a lot of paper spread around you, a larger desktop may resolve your clutter problem. Do you refer to books throughout the course of your workday? A hutch for your desk or a bookshelf will lessen the chance of these books piling up on your desk. If your desk is not suitable for your needs, or if you need some additional office furniture, spend some time today shopping for what you need. Shop online for greater convenience, and to avoid the additional clutter of office furniture catalogs on your desk.

Day 2

Today you’re going to remove all non-paper, unessential items from your desktop. Prepare three boxes and label them Keep, Return and Toss. Remove all non-paper items from your desk and place into the appropriate boxes. This includes items such as stuffed animals, pictures, empty coffee cups and other odds and ends that are not used in your daily work. Find a more appropriate place for the items you would like to keep. Pictures, for example, can be hung on walls rather than placed on your desk. Stuffed animals can be placed on shelves. Recycle or throw away the items to be tossed and return the items that need to be returned. You’ll still have your piles of paper for now, but the only other items left on your desk should be the items necessary for your daily work.

Day 3

Today you’ll be attacking the crux of the clutter problem: paper. Dealing with paper is the hardest part of tackling clutter because there is so much of it and it accumulates very quickly. Depending on how much paper you have, use either your boxes from Day 2 or simply separate it into separate stacks.

Begin clearing one side of your desk, and, paper by paper, make your way to the other side. As you pick up each piece of paper, decide if you should keep it, return it or toss it, and then place it in the appropriate pile. You will need to make two separate piles for documents you’re keeping, one for active and one for inactive documents. If you’re scared to throw something away, that’s fine. Place it in the inactive pile to be dealt with later. Don’t let a little fear stand in the way of your clean desk.

Finish off the task by giving your desktop a thorough cleaning. Leave your desk ready for the next day with only essential items you need for your workday. This was probably a draining task, so we’ll do something about the piles of paper tomorrow.

Day 4

You saw your desk when you came into work this morning! That’s great progress. It’s time to finish up with that paper. Recycle or shred the paper in the pile to be tossed, and return other people’s items. Your active files can be placed on your desk in a file holder, and your inactive files placed out of the way to be filed later. Spend some time at the end of your day putting things away so you can come in to the same clean desk tomorrow morning.

Day 5

You did it! You’re desk should now be decluttered. To keep it this way, get out your appointment book and make some appointments with yourself.

First, set a date to begin going through your inactive file box. You may need to schedule several appointments to take care of these properly. Then, at the end of each workday, schedule five minutes for yourself to clear off your desk and put everything where it belongs.

Stay Decluttered

It can take six to eight weeks for a new behavior to become a habit, so force yourself to clean off your desk daily with that goal in mind. Take one day a week to thoroughly clean your desk, including dust it (hint: in order to dust it, you have to be able to find it!). If you still aren’t able to make time in your day to keep your desk clean, you may need to enlist the aid of a professional organizer. If routine administrative tasks continue to pile up on your desk, think about different ways of handling this work. Outsourcing to a virtual assistant or other professional may help you resolve the issue.

Now that you have come this far, you can apply these five steps to the rest of your desk and your office. Good luck!

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Denise Willms is a professional article writer and owner of a busy article directory for www.wahm-articles.com”>work at home moms, WAHM-Articles.com. To learn more about starting your own successful home business, visit www.WAHM-Articles.com to sign up for her weekly Work at Home Moms Tips newsletter.

When it comes to gibberish, nobody appreciates it more than Yours Truly. If the truth were fully known, and let’s hope it isn’t, I have engaged in more than my share of gibberish.

Just last week the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage accosted me on this very subject. I was trying to explain to her why I did not do something she asked me to do when in the middle of my explanation she stopped me and said, “I wish you would stop all of this gibberish and just tell me the truth.”

I did not point out to her at that time – there were other priorities – but later on I mused on what she said. In her statement she made an assumption that I’m not quite sure is absolutely the truth. Her assumption, plain and simple, is that gibberish and truth are not synonymous. According to her, it is either gibberish or it is the truth, and neither shall the twain meet.

I feel, however, that this is not fair.

Undoubtedly, everybody would agree that there are plenty of times when the truth is absolutely essential. The higher up the chain of authority the more essential that truth is.

For example, if I am driving down the road speeding and a police officer stops me and asks me if I was speeding, the truth will set me free. Especially, when the nice police officer has irrefutable evidence that I was in fact speeding. There is absolutely no good that can come from lying in a situation like this.

Then there is the other side. If your wife asks you if the dress she is wearing makes her look fat, believe me, the truth will not set you free. This is where gibberish comes in.

There is a place for everything in life, and I am happy to say that there is a place for gibberish.

Now the question bears asking, what is gibberish?

According to the dictionary, gibberish is “rapid and incoherent talk; unintelligible chatter; jargon.” That definition covers a vast territory of human experience.

Nowhere in that definition does it even suggest that gibberish is the opposite of truth. In fact, gibberish at its best is truth disguised in order not to hurt somebody. That somebody may be yourself or in my case, my wife. I employ the fine art of gibberish so as not to hurt the one I love. And I am sticking with that story.

First, gibberish is “rapid and incoherent talk.” Many a time this has been my salvation. When I am caught, for example, with my hands in the cookie jar and someone catches me and inquires, “What are you doing?” this level of gibberish is employed. And the faster the better. Of course, if your mouth is filled with cookies at the time, all the better.

Then there is the “unintelligible chatter.” This is harder to master. Not the “unintelligible” part. For many of us, especially husbands, this is almost a natural thing. Regardless, it becomes quite easy for us. The chatter part sometimes slows us down. After all, any man who has been married for any length of time rarely gets the opportunity to practice his chattering skills. This is why most husbands talk in their sleep.

Last, but not least is “jargon.” This calls for a specialized language requiring the employment of words that do not mean anything whatsoever. Words like, “thingamajig” and “whatchamacallit.” For those who are going to master the skills of gibberish these kinds of words are absolutely necessary.

When my father was working in the garage, he used to tell me, “Go get me that thingamajig next to the whatchamacallit.” I always brought him the hammer. He always invited me to go outside and play.

Gibberish is a present help in time of trouble.

Nobody has raised gibberish to the high art standard as the humble politician. (The word “humble,” is gibberish and I can’t tell you what it means.) The average politician can say more gibberish in five minutes than the average husband can in a lifetime. And I know they mean well, they do not want to hurt our feelings and so they employ the tactic of gibberish. (The gibberish union must have strong lobbyists in Washington DC to get all this employment).

Some of the gibberish used in the past has been, “I feel your pain.” Certainly you feel my pain. You caused it. And the famous one, “No new taxes.” Of course not, it will be the re-employment of the old taxes. (Again, here is a strong lobbyist representing old taxes union.)

However, in light of all this, there has been an old gibberish that I never quite understood what it meant until lately. I think it was Harry Truman who said, “The buck stops here.” I thought I knew what it meant until lately.

When a politician says, “The Buck stops here,” he is actually referring to all those bucks in your wallet.

Only one person I know does not employ the tactic of gibberish. Fortunately, for all concerned that one person is God. The Bible says, “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19 KJV).

God always says what He means, and always means what He says.

Once again, we, the American consumer, have been treated to a celebrity apology. I am not sure what we have done to be treated to such highfalutin entertainment. If I could find out, I would immediately stop doing whatever it is I was doing.

I certainly do not downplay apologies. Heaven knows, I have done my share of apologizing throughout the years. And, reflecting on past activities, I am looking forward to many more apologies in the future. In fact, right now I just would like to apologize for anything I might do or say in the future that would in any way offend anybody. I feel better now that I have said that.

As a connoisseur of apologies, I would like to point out that there are three types of apologies common to mankind. I want to emphasize the word “man.” It seems to me, as someone of experience, that we, husbands in particular, are usually on the husband-side of making an apology. I do not know if it is supposed to be this way, but it usually ends up this way as a matter of course.

The first type of apology is when you have done something wrong and you know it. Believe me, nobody since Adam has ever done anything wrong and not known it. They may deny it, but behind every denial is a lie.

I think doing something wrong is universal among everybody born of a woman. Everybody makes a mistake at some point in his or her life. Those who have made no mistakes are living in a fairytale world of make believe. They make believe they are perfect and people not wanting to cross them go along with the ruse. But normally speaking, making a mistake is part of growing up.

Making a mistake is not the problem; it is what you do after you have made that mistake. That is where apology comes into play.

The second type of apology is when what you done or said offends someone. This covers a lot of territory. It does not matter what you say or do, someone somewhere is going to be offended. Even if you do not do something, someone is offended because of your inactivity. I do not know what to do here. The only thing to do is always have a generic apology ready for someone who has been offended.

Then there is the third type of apology. It has taken me many years to understand this type, and yet I must confess to being a novice in this area. This apology is for everyone who is married, particularly husbands.

Every man goes into the life of matrimonial bliss believing he has married the girl of his dreams. I know, I was one.

The problem here is simply this. Have you ever analyzed your dreams? My dreams are all scary, convoluted, hideous with a complete twisted sense of reality. If I had to live with my dreams, I would immediately go insane.

This is where harsh reality hits the pavement of lifelong companionship.

My simple rule is this, if you want to marry the girl of your dreams never wake up. Because, as soon as anybody wakes up, reality hits you in the face. That “girl of your dreams” could become a nightmare when she realizes you are not the “man of her dreams.”

This just shows the difference between husbands and wives. The wife goes into the marriage relationship knowing that she has a lot of work to do to make her new husband the man of her dreams. And she will work at this until the day she dies, or he dies, whichever comes first. To her it is an upward road to marital nirvana.

The husband starts at marital nirvana and it takes several years for him to realize that the person he married is not an angel but rather a human being subject to all the frailty of humanity that he is subjected to.

The husband starts out at perfection, while the wife has perfection as a goal. And if you have been married for any length of time, you will understand the kind of difficulties this presents. It is the kind of difficulties that call forth the apology ritual. Whoever designed apologies certainly had married people in mind. Or, better yet, husbands in mind. It is my experience that husbands need to exercise the apology ritual much more than his better half. It is the prescribed pathway to self-improvement that every wife delights in.

Therefore, we who are bound with the bonds of matrimony have greater use, especially if we are husband, of the apology ritual. And, this is not a bad thing. It is a well-known fact that husbands have a greater chance of self-improvement. When I say “self-improvement,” I am assuming that my “self” is greatly facilitated by my wife. This is the advantage I have over the unmarried sojourner of life’s pitted highway.

There is no better relationship than marriage. Jesus made this quite clear. “For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matthew 19:5-6 KJV).

No matter what the relationship is, the apology is the first step towards a better relationship.

When it comes to networking on forum boards, are you building a quality business reputation? Do you even know how to properly network on forums?

I would like to share a few important tips on how to make your networking experience a positive one, for you and your business reputation.

1. Read All Rules and Guidelines. It is very important to read all of the forum board rules, before proceeding with your first post. Rules and Guidelines vary from forum to forum, don’t assume they are all the same. If you feel you can abide by the rules posted, then it’s time to proceed to step 2.

2. Fill Out Your Forum Profile. Your forum profile is very important, so please don’t overlook filling it out. Try to be as complete as possible with the information requested on your profile. Forum members do read new member’s profiles. It’s a great way to let others know about you and your business, without having to spam an Ad. It’s equally important to make yourself a signature tag, while filling out your profile. Most forums won’t allow business links in the body, of the message board post.

3. Post An Introduction. After you have completed your profile, it’s now time to post a new member introduction. Your introduction should be a brief 1-2 paragraphs in length. Your introduction should state your first name, state or country location, a few personal tidbits (such as hobbies), and a brief blurb about your home business.

4. Visit General Topic Discussions. It’s important to build relationships with other board members. One way to do this is by participating in some general topic discussions. This shows the other members that you are there for the right reasons, to build networking relationships. There is nothing worse than joining a forum board and immediately spamming a business Ad.

5. Placing Business Ads. Every online message board has different rules and guidelines regarding the business advertising folders. It’s your job to read those rules before placing any business Ads. If you are joining a forum board to just spam business Ads, then don’t join! As a forum owner, I can personally tell you that we will quickly delete your spam Ad, and remove you as a member.

6. Consistency. Be consistent with your networking efforts. Set aside time on a weekly basis, to visit the forum board. Participate in current topic discussions, or better yet, start a few new topic discussions yourself.

The key to success when it comes to networking on various forum boards involves all 6 of these crucial steps. By taking the time to build quality networking relationships, you will build a professional online business reputation.

About the Author
Shelly Hill has been working from home in Direct Sales since 1989 and is a Manager with Tupperware. You can visit Shelly online at www.workathomebusinessoptions.com for Direct Sales articles and home business tips. You can also visit Shelly online at www.classybusinesswomenforums.com/index.php Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

This week the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and Yours Truly had the privilege of attending our youngest granddaughter’s second birthday party. I wanted to go to her third birthday party but she was not old enough yet. So, I will have to wait another year.

On the way home we sat in silence thinking about the party we had just attended. It just does not seem possible that we have eight grandchildren. I broke the silence with a little comment along this line. “I’m just not old enough to be a grandfather of eight grandchildren. I don’t feel old enough to be a grandfather”

From the other passenger in the car came a rather sarcastic snicker, if I say so myself.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I retorted.

“Well,” she said rather slowly as if she was trying to collect her thoughts and use the right words, “believe me, putting all feelings aside, you’re old enough.”

I did not quite know what she meant by that, and I was afraid if I ask she would tell me. I quickly changed the subject and said, “Didn’t Jordin look cute with birthday cake all over her face?”

She laughed.

Then, I thought I was talking to myself but apparently, I said it aloud, a least loud enough for my wife to hear. “I wonder what it’s like to be two years old?”

“Get ready,” my wife said with a laugh in her voice, “you’re about ready to enter into your second childhood.”

At the time, I rather resented the comment, but upon further reflection, I do not see anything wrong with that. After all, what is wrong with enjoying childhood the second time around?

I really do not think it is possible to enjoy childhood the first time. There are so many things to interfere.

First off, are parents constantly telling you what to do or not to do. Telling you when to go to bed. Telling you when to get up in the morning. Telling you when to eat. Telling you what to eat. Telling… telling… telling…

How in the world can anybody enjoy life when people are always telling them what to do? The problem is, when a person is two years old they have absolutely no leverage against overbearing parents. The only thing the two-year-old can do to get the upper hand with his parents is to wait until they are in the supermarket with lots of people around and then throw a temper tantrum.

Here is the advantage of entering a second time into your childhood. Nobody is around to tell you what to do or what not to do. You are on your own, at least in this area. Of course, in your second childhood it is not possible to throw a temper tantrum in a public supermarket and get away with it.

The advantage of having a second childhood is that you have all that experience behind you to use to your advantage that a two year old could not possibly have. This in itself covers a multitude of sins.

“What’s wrong with your husband?” Somebody may ask my wife.

“Oh,” she responds quite mechanically, “he’s into his second childhood.”

“I understand, my husband’s there too.”

And all is right with the world.

In a person’s first childhood, he is quite limited in his outlook. He does not know what he is missing. But during the second childhood, he has the benefit of knowing this and using it for his own personal profit.

For example, when the parents of a two-year-old take him out to a restaurant he is completely at the mercy of the parents.

“Eat your vegetables,” the parents demand, “then you can have dessert.”

There is nothing the two-year-old can do at this point. After all, the one who pays the bill gets to say who does what.

Now, as I enter my second childhood I have the advantage of knowing that all that malarkey about eating your vegetables first is just that… malarkey. And, since I am paying the bill, I will eat the desert whenever I want to eat it. In fact, I will start with dessert and end with dessert. And while I am on the subject, if I do not want to order vegetables, I will order no vegetable.

Many has been the time when my wife and I are out to a restaurant and she will order a properly balanced meal, while I order dessert.

“You do know vegetables are good for you?” my wife will insist.

“I know no such thing,” I reply.

The two-year-old believes it when his parents say that vegetables are good for him, especially the green vegetables. But someone like myself, enjoying the second go around of his childhood, knows this is absolutely not true. And, it is not true that I have to clean my plate before I can have my dessert.

As a mature man enjoying his second childhood, I do not have to believe everything people tell me. If dessert was not good for me, why in the world does it taste so good to me?

I have good scriptural evidence that God is on my side here. In the Psalms I read about God, “Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalms 103: 5 KJV).

God has my best interest in mind for the longest period of time.

About the Author
The Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL 34472. He lives with his wife, Martha, in Silver Springs Shores. Call him at 352-687-4240 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. The church web site is www.whatafellowship.com.

My first attempt to find a job via the internet was very discouraging. I scrolled through each job post until I found something that lined up with my experience. Once I found something interesting I’d read the job description and be saddened because the job only paid $10 to $12 and hour. Doh!

Then I’d see other jobs that paid more but the minimum requirements were frightening. The jobs that paid more required that you have a certificate in all these scary abbreviations. I had no idea what ACT; CSI; CAT; DOG; and BUG meant. It was way too confusing for me.

To ease my worries I called my buddy Eric for some advice. This is what he told me, “Looking for a job after all these years is like breaking up with the girl you’ve been with for over 15 years and all of sudden you have to start dating again. You’re not sure weather to take her to a movie or dinner, buy her flowers, or hold her hand on the first date.” It was pretty funny.

The first few days I was good. I was walking by faith that if God closed one door, he would open up a bigger,
better door for me. “God will provide”, I told myself. But I’m human; doubt and fear still popped up in my head.
One day with my head hanging low I said to God, “I know you’re there, I’m getting a little scared over here, help me please!”

Within a few minutes I turned on the T.V. and before the picture showed up, I heard the word DOUBT! I
was taken aback. How did Jesse Duplantis know that I was thinking about doubt? His message was about
stopping the devil’s words from taking root in our heart. You see if a thought comes to us, it first enters the
mind then if allowed it enters and plants itself into the heart.

That’s why we must “bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Cor 10:5). We need to
take the word doubt and rebuke it before it can take root into our heart. We need to speak the Word of God
saying, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Tim
1:7)

From that trial in my life I learned that a man needs to be tested in order to grow stronger in his faith. The Bible verified it in 1 Peter 1:6-7, “So be truly glad. There is a wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trails, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”

If you are struggling in your faith walk remember when there is a drought a tree will dig its roots deeper into the ground to find water, which makes its foundation stronger. So you too must dig deeper to strengthen your foundation of faith.

Orlando Javien Jr, Author
God Made Me Pick Up Underwear, Finding Faith In Unusual Places

About the Author
I am the author of the book God Made Me Pick Up Underwear, Finding Faith In Unusual Places (Tate Publishing) and the weekly newsletter, The Javien Chronicles.

My book draws out a picture of the day I found my faith at an exorcism and how God tested my faith by asking me to pick up an underwear. It’s filled with funny stories of faith, love, and encouragement. It’s a story of my journey with Christ. More of my stories can be read at www.ItsAllAboutTheStories.com.

As far as I can remember, I have never been out of sorts with good ole Mother Nature. I have had, however, some issues with Father Time. I wish, for example, he would take a vacation. Really, all that marching on must be quite tiresome.

I go my way and I allow Mother Nature to go her way. It has been a marvelous system dating back as far as I can remember. I respect her, and she ignores me. Nothing could be more harmonious.

Recently, there are those who seem determined to try to embarrass Mother Nature. I suppose they have nothing better to do with their time, after all, all the major problems in the world have been solved. The focus of their assault on Mother Nature is in the area they call Global Warming or as they have recently called it, Climate Change.

Those of us, who have not strained our brain with extracurricular thinking, know the climate changes all the time from one season to the next. Without fail, spring follows winter, winter follows fall, fall follows summer and summer follows spring. A monotonous cycle dating back to the very beginning of time, whenever that was.

The experts are predicting that the temperatures will rise significantly in the foreseeable future. (Which, of course nobody can see.)

I think we need to have a different definition of the word “experts.” It seems to me that somewhere along the line somebody has changed the meaning of the word.

For example, the financial experts on Wall Street were predicting prosperity for the whole country just before that ship hit the rocks sinking everybody on board. The primary financial expert at the time was Bernie Madoff. And we all know how that worked out.

Then, the economy experts in Washington DC predicted the economy was booming, with nothing to fear. That turned out to be a boomerang, and boy, did the boom ring.

In addition, some theological experts made predictions. One televangelist predicted that in 2005 the United States would be attacked by some nuclear bomb sending repercussions around the world.

The same televangelist also predicted, because of certain actions Disney World did in Orlando, God would judge the state of Florida. How do you suppose God was going to judge the state of Florida, according to this preacher? Why a hurricane, of course, and it would destroy the entire state.

Since making that prediction, the state of Florida has not had a serious hurricane.

Why is it that normally rational people make idiotic statements? After all, we idiots rarely make rational statements.

In the midst of all of these predictions of Global Warming, Mother Nature has turned a cold shoulder.

Florida has had record low temperatures this winter. Even where I live in Florida, tiny snowflakes kept falling on our heads. I had to requisition my retired long johns, buried deep in the attic, just to keep warm.

When the Global Warming conference was held in Washington DC, a while back, there was such a snowstorm some people could not even make the conference. They next went to Copenhagen and the snow followed them like a well-trained puppy.

Even this week, a record snowfall has blanketed the entire Northeast of the United States. Washington DC, also, has had an avalanche of snow, not to be confused with the snow job that is usually part of the city social climate.

If the predicted Global Warming pattern continues, we all will be buried in 18 feet of freshly fallen snow. Furthermore, I personally, want that televangelist to predict another furious hurricane season for Florida. I could use another calm season.

All I can think is, some people have been educated far beyond their intelligence and have ended up in a world of hypothesis, which is where I think all their hype is coming from.

Mother Nature is having the last laugh.

While I was musing on this, the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage made an interesting observation. She said, “Some people confuse education with intelligence.”

And boy, was she right. Most of the mistakes in our country have come from very highly educated people. A sad commentary on our educational system. The difference between a highly educated person and just a common every day person is the common everyday person knows he does not know everything.

A person who thinks he knows everything is a person who really does not know too much. The Bible says, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12 KJV). And, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.” (Psalms 111:10 KJV).

Just when you think you have everything figured out, something happens that completely disavows your supposition.

I personally take my refuge in the Bible, the infallible Word of God. “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:” (2 Peter 1:19 KJV).

It is astonishing to me that sophisticated men could ever think they were so important that they could do something jeopardizing God’s creation. After all, this is Our Father’s World.

Mere man is no threat to God or to His creation.

I was having a wonderful time and everything seemed to be going like clockwork. Then I got out of bed. I thought I was awake but I was only acting. I remember getting out of bed and shuffling off to the kitchen and pouring a cup of coffee in my favorite coffee mug. I have had this coffee mug as far back as I can remember. I never start a day out without a good old cup of Joe in my favorite coffee mug.

Suddenly, there was a sharp pain coming from my right foot and then it seemed like it was on fire.

I looked down only to see my favorite coffee mug smashed on my favorite right foot and my toes dancing some kind of exotic jig. My coffee mug was beyond repair, but my right foot was another story.

I am not sure how I am going to start my day anymore without my favorite mug. Sure, I could get another one, but it would not be the same. Some things cannot be replaced for any amount of money. Of course, offer me $1 million for that cup, and see how I forget that cup.

If you stop to think of it, and who has time to think about anything these days, some things are absolutely replaceable. I, for instance, shall always cherish fond memories of my favorite morning coffee cup.

I could either bemoan my loss or drink my morning coffee from a substitute. I know a substitute is never quite the same, but at least it gets the job done of getting the all-important caffeine into my system.

I had just adjusted to using my new coffee cup when I heard some very disturbing news.

Whenever I feel upbeat and cheerful I always know what to do. It is rather simple. I always turn to the news. Nothing can bring me down to earth faster than the latest news broadcast. These men and women are trained to deliver to you and me bad news.

What in the world would they do if a day… or an hour… would go by without anything terrible happening in the world? Of course, we all know what they do. They would make up the news and follow a balloon.

I am not sure I believe anything I hear on the news broadcast. How do I know what is really happening? It used to be that you could trust good ole uncle Walter, but those days have gone by the way of the hula-hoop.

Here is the thing that disturbed me so terribly. Personally, I think it is a hoax. Then, what if it really is true.

This past week we celebrated Groundhog Day. One of the great holidays of the year, as far as I am concerned. I celebrate this day by going out and purchasing a fresh apple fritter. With all of the reverence that goes into celebrating this special holiday, I carefully and reverently dedicate the eating of that apple fritter to Groundhog Day.

Such sacred days deserve special remembrance.

Then, to bring my world crashing around me, some newscaster reported that there was a plot underway to replace Punxsutawney Phil with a robot.

I know what you are thinking! Such blasphemy should carry with its severe criminal penalties.

However, somebody with his hatband just a little bit too tight suggested that Groundhog Day celebration was a terrible hardship on the groundhog populace. For some reason he thought, the groundhogs being awakened early on Groundhog Day created some kind of a mental hardship on the little furry creatures.

Just how that person knew about mental hardship on animals escaped the reporter’s report. Somehow, these people believe that severe atrocities are taking place among the groundhog population because they are being awakened out of a midwinter’s sleep.

How do they know, but just maybe those groundhogs enjoy being aroused out of their sleep to bask in the sunshine of all that attention? What other animal enjoys such notoriety? Hollywood celebrities excepted, of course.

Supposing this is a real problem. How in the world did they come up with their solution of replacing groundhogs with robots? What would these robots do the rest of the year?

We know what groundhogs do the rest of the year.

With all the problems in the world, somebody has taken the time to think groundhogs have a problem with Groundhog Day and have even come up with the solution.

The next thing you know somebody will come up with the suggestion to replace people with robots. And right here is where I have some suggestions to offer myself.

First off, I think we ought to replace all politicians with robots. The robots I have in mind are battery operated so that eventually these robots will run down. I have often been tempted to run down a politician, but this might be a better way. If anybody is under mental distress, these people are.

Then, I think all TV news reporters who report on hoaxes should be replaced by robots. After all, all they do is read something off a telemarketer. A well-trained and oiled robot could do the very same thing.

Some things certainly cannot be replaced. Personally, I take refuge in the unchangeable Christ of the Bible. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:8 KJV).

It is nice to know something is absolutely irreplaceable.

About the Author
The Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL 34472. He lives with his wife, Martha, in Silver Springs Shores. Call him at 352-687-4240 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. The church web site is www.whatafellowship.com.

Before you become a guest blogger, here are five tips you should follow.

Research
Research the blogs you are interested in or you want to become a guest blogger on. Get a feel for what the blog is about, get to know the blog owner and see what their writing style is like, read the blog posts and comments. Look for posts or categories that are the most popular. This way you can get an idea of the kinds of topics that their target market is looking for.

Network
You can save a lot of time researching if you’re networking with other bloggers. Many times bloggers who are looking for guest bloggers will ask their fellow blogger friends or people they respect and trust first than to seek out a stranger.

Proposal
When you pitch your proposal to a blog owner provide as much details as possible. Simple details like how you can format the blog post so they can just copy and paste it to their blog will make a difference especially if they don’t plan to give you guest access to their blog. Convenience is important in this type of situation.

Make sure you back it up with proof of your writings or blog posts. Remember it’s not what’s in it for you, but what you can do for them as a guest blogger. What knowledge or topic of expertise can you provide for their blog?

Take it a step further and attach a sample blog post. From your research, you should be able to find a topic on their blog they haven’t covered yet. This is a good idea because the blog owner can get a feel for your writing style or voice and they can determine if you would be a good fit.

Write Good Blog Posts
When you’re a guest blogger always write your best. It’s a poor reflection of you if you write crappy blog posts and it’s disrespectful to the blog owner. Know exactly what you’re allowed to do and then do it well.

The last tip a guest blogger should follow is to promote their guest posting to social networking and social bookmarking sites, on their own blog or website. This benefits greatly for both parties to get more traffic, get new blog readers and an opportunity for you to become a regular guest blogger.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Get tips and learn more about blogging on Sophia’s work at home forums.

Sophia co-owns a work at home business blog that focuses on helping others who are looking for opportunities and ideas to work from home. You will also find tips and articles on how to balance work, family and play in your daily life.

This article may be reprinted for free so long as the author’s resource box is kept intact and all links remain live and clickable. The Article Source must also be included. All rights are reserved by the author.

To find these plugins, login to your WordPress administrative area, click “Plugins” on the left menu, then click “Add New.” You’ll see a page with a search box you can type the plugin name into and then install the plugin.

Akismet: Blog spam is out of control and can be overwhelming if you have to delete it all yourself. Let Akismet deal with it for you instead.

All in One SEO Pack: This is a great plugin to help make WordPress more search engine friendly. It gives you more control over various elements on your pages.

TinyMCE Advanced: The default editor in WordPress has an extremely annoying habit of removing line breaks and spaces. It also doesn’t allow an easy way to change the font. This plugin fixes those problems.

WP Security Scan: Make your WordPress site more secure with this plugin. It scans for common vulnerabilities and things you can change to keep your site safer from hackers.

Subscribe to Comments: Encourage your visitors who comment to come back and stay engaged in the discussion by giving them an option to receive an email when a new comment is posted after theirs.

Similar Posts: Help your readers find more information they’re interested in so they’ll stick around longer with this plugin. It will add a list of similar posts at the end of each of your blog posts. You can see how it works below (it’ll list 5 posts that are related to this one in case you want to read more of what I have to say about WordPress or plugins).

Social Bookmarking Plugin: There are lots to choose from, just be sure you’ve got one! You can use Sociable, Sexy Bookmarks, Share This, or others. Make it easy for your visitors to share your posts with their networks online.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Michelle Shaeffer, The Small Business Muse, publishes The Muses Brainstorm, a weekly ezine with tips to help you balance, manage, and market your home based business. With your subscription you’ll also receive access to free gifts including 101+ Free/Cheap Ways to Market Your Business, 119 Things You Can Outsource, and more. If you’re ready for inspirational guidance and bright ideas sign up free at www.thesmallbusinessmuse.com

This article may be reprinted for free so long as the author’s resource box is kept intact and all links remain live and clickable. The Article Source must also be included. All rights are reserved by the author.

1) Pick a Good, Reliable, Secure Website Host

Where you choose to host your WordPress website can make a difference in your security. Two important things to look for are server security and backups for restore.

Choose a host who offers you php5 and runs it in suEXEC mode. With suEXEC you are able to lockdown your files more tightly. You can find more technical (very technical) details in Wikipedia.

Also look for a host who offers a reliable backup system and will restore your site for you free in the event of being hacked. Most hosts offer weekly and monthly backups at a minimum. Some hosts also do nightly backups and incremental hourly backups. I’m hosted on a server with monthly, weekly, nightly, and incremental backups. This means that if my site were to be hacked I could easily roll back to what it looked like 3 or 4 hours ago. I wouldn’t loose much, if any, of my content or other files.

2) Use Fantastico to Install Your Blog (or Change Your Admin Username)

If you install yourself with FTP and cPanel, you’ll have a default username of “admin” which is very easy to guess. By using Fantastico, you will be given the choice to pick a username and password that are unique. Plus, it’s easier than an install with FTP and cPanel. Either way, don’t use “admin” for the admin username. And don’t EVER use “password” for your password.

3) Use a Secure Password

Hackers and bad people are constantly attempting to crack into our online accounts and access everything from our email to our online banking records. How can you stop them from easily accessing your accounts? One important step is to use SECURE passwords that aren’t easily guessed or cracked by their software.

Here are tips on how to create secure passwords:

• Don’t use names, dates, phone numbers, or addresses

• Don’t use common words from the dictionary

• Mix up letters and numbers

• Make it at least 8 characters long (longer is better)

• Change it often (for online banking or hosting accounts)

You may also want to use an online random password generator.

4) Stay on Top of WordPress News

Subscribe to the updates at the WordPress website so you’ll know immediately when the developers release an update or patch for any security issues.

5) Keep Your WordPress Installation Up to Date

It’s critical to your security to keep WordPress up to date. The new versions of the script make that very easy and you can update in just a couple of clicks. It’s under “Tools” then “Upgrade” on the menu on the left of your admin pages.

6) Keep Your Plugins Up to Date

Anytime a plugin is updated, be sure to update the version on your site. You’ll know an update is available because when you login to your admin area, there will be a number in bright orange-red circle next to the “Plugins” link on the left. Click “Plugins” and it will show you which have an update available. You can follow the steps to automatically upgrade your plugin(s) as needed (backup your site before you upgrade anything, including plugins).

7) Install Security Plugins

Here are two security plugins I run on my WordPress websites and recommend installing:

• WP Security Scan: wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-security-scan/

• Secure WordPress: wordpress.org/extend/plugins/secure-wordpress/

With these seven steps you’ll have a more secure installation of WordPress.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Michelle Shaeffer, The Small Business Muse, publishes The Muses Brainstorm, a weekly ezine with tips to help you balance, manage, and market your home based business. With your subscription you’ll also receive access to free gifts including 101+ Free/Cheap Ways to Market Your Business, 119 Things You Can Outsource, and more. If you’re ready for inspirational guidance and bright ideas sign up free at www.thesmallbusinessmuse.com

This article may be reprinted for free so long as the author’s resource box is kept intact and all links remain live and clickable. The Article Source must also be included. All rights are reserved by the author.

Blogging though it began as sort of a hobby for many, has turned into a profitable business for others, and also a way to assist business owner’s in connecting with their target audience and drawing them into their websites through a new format, the blog.

So, you may already have a blog or you might be a business owner who sees the need for one but you either don’t know where to begin or don’t have the time it takes to maintain a blog. If either is the case for you, you should consider outsourcing your blog management. Here’s why:

Blog Management helps to provide keyword rich content to your company’s blog and website. There are many benefits to having a company blog, these include:
Branding – Having a blog gives you a place online to help establish your brand. It can help you to build a reputation with your readers that will give you a positive image and help lead your readers to become your customers.

Fresh Content – Fresh, original content on your blog helps the search engines find you. The more often you can provide fresh content the better off you are.

SEO – Search Engine Rankings are where it’s at these days and you can receive higher rankings for your website by using a blog and its content to drive those rankings. We optimize your blog posts with key words that help drive traffic to your site, increasing your search engine rankings.

More Traffic – Above all the blog helps with your traffic as previously mentioned and whether you want higher search engine rankings or just more customers, traffic is the way to receive both. And a blog with fresh content is how to get that traffic.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Alyssa Avant is a Christian speaker, writer and business owner. Her Writer for Hire business provides online entrepreneurs and business owner’s with articles and content. To have Alyssa write for you, visit her website at awriterforhire.com For resources on using content to grow your business go here: awriterforhire.com/subscribe.html.

This article may be reprinted for free so long as the author’s resource box is kept intact and all links remain live and clickable. The Article Source must also be included. All rights are reserved by the author.

Living in the Sunshine state of Florida and seeing snow accumulating on the ground is the closest thing to blasphemy I know. Everybody knows it does not snow in Florida.

The other night I was so cold I tried to pick a fight with my wife just to get into some hot water. Unfortunately, she was too cold to participate and so we sat together shivering and trying to keep warm.

Just when I thought all of that cold was behind me it happened.

Some people say that the inevitable is simply that. I, the other hand, do not know the meaning of the word inevitable. But if it means something that is supposed to happen will happen then I guess, it has happened to Yours Truly.

Several nights later all was quiet in our domicile when trumpeting down the hallway came a sneeze of the like I have never heard before. Then came a series of sneezes each louder than the previous one. Following the sneeze came an eerie moaning. At first, I could not make out the words. It sounded like something from outer space.

After another crescendo of sneezing, I heard the moaning again but this time I was able to make out the words, “I think I’m sick.”

At first, I was stunned because those words and sneezing were not coming from me. And, I usually do not think. Then a dreadful thought gripped the remnant of my brain. If I am not sick and sneezing, who is?

At that time, a most frightful creature emerged from the dim hallway. It was a balky creature with its head out of proportion in size to its body and a large, thin flickering tongue. Never before in my life have I seen such a creature. Whether it was human or not was for me to decide. I had been cold before, but this time I froze in my tracks. Was this a home invasion? Was my life in mortal danger?

The strange figure kept coming at me out of the darkness, hissing and puffing and sneezing as it came. I was about ready to scream bloody murder when I recognized the hallway monster. It was the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage wearing her bathrobe with a huge towel wrapped around her head and a thermometer sticking out her mouth.

Looking at me with watery, bloodshot eyes she said, “I don’t feel so good.”

At the time, I was tempted to say, “That’s all right, you don’t look so good, either.” However, not knowing the kind of monster she had morphed into, I checked my razor-sharp wit at the front door.

Then the hallway exploded with another crescendo of sneezing, all of it, by the way, in my specific direction. The hallway is rather narrow and the force of her sneeze was like a tornado.

Like a jackrabbit on steroids, I jumped out of the way of the flying germs as best I could. Not knowing what infectious diseases my beloved was carrying, I was not in such a sharing mood as I could have been.

Then the room begin to rumble again and I heard her say, “I don’t feel good.”

Up to this point in our marital relationship getting sick was the sole responsibility of Yours Truly. I am the one that comes down with everything that goes around. I am the one who looks like an unshaven monster in the morning. I am the one that groans and grouches, especially when he is sick.

I have a special relationship with my bathroom mirror. Before actually coming into the bathroom, I knock and in a loud voice tell my mirror I am coming in. The first time I did this without knocking my mirror took one look at me and cracked in all four directions.

Now, someone other than Yours Truly is scaring the heebie-jeebies out of people. Actually, it is quite nice not to be the disfigured object for the moment.

Whatever my wife had, it had her and had her good.

Now the tables were turned. And by tables, I mean the dinner table. It would be my responsibility now to prepare the meals for “She-Who-Is-Sick.” The $64,000 question was, would S.W.I.S. survive the culinary attempts of a nutritionally-challenged-cook?

I made a nice cup of tea and took it in to her. At least I know how to make hot tea. Of course, it took me four attempts to make her tea. The first 3 cups were not quite hot enough, so I had to throw them out.

I took the hot tea into her and said, “Here is some nice tea. Don’t you worry about a thing; I’ll take care of everything and do all the cooking. You just get some rest.”

With that, an unearthly moan escaped from her trembling lips.

I head back into the kitchen and commenced my preparation of the meal. It was not long before I heard some rustling behind me, and when I turned around there was my wife.

“I’m feeling much better now, I’ll make lunch.”

I did not know that my cooking would have such a miraculous effect upon someone as sick as my wife.

As I walked out of the kitchen, I was reminded of a wonderful verse of Scripture. “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes” (Psalms 118:9 KJV).

I may be a prince, but do not trust my cooking.

The Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL 34472. He lives with his wife, Martha, in Silver Springs Shores. Call him at 352-687-4240 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. The church web site is www.whatafellowship.com.

It is of the utmost importance to establish some form of a backup plan. To leave your business in limbo can be disastrous to it. Your clients, customers or consultants depend on the function of your business to be smooth and consistent at all times. It is in fact business.

With a few bad reviews from poor communications, delay in orders and anything of the like can take your growing business and send it crashing to the ground. This is why it is imperative to have a backup plan in the case of emergencies.

There are many options to obtain security for your business in cases of these emergencies, from very basic to complete running of your business. We will also explore how to communicate in the aftermath if you have nothing in place.

Here are some FREE Options:

1. Have a family member or close friend have access to your business email, contact list and client/customer list. Make sure they have this in a safe place and readily available. With that have a document saved in a file they can access from their computer, with a form letter to send to your contacts, clients/customers that there is an emergency. Also it is important that you offer your clients/or customers a way out, if they have paid for anything. Allow them to chose to back out and receive a refund if they desire, make sure to inform them that if a refund is requested it may take up to 30 days, this will allow you enough time to do it yourself or forward the information to your family helper. If you owe business money or consultants make sure this information and instructions are with your helper too.
2. In your email account you have an auto responder/vacation setting, pre-write a general message that there is an emergency. Include alternative contact if you have one, such as a helper. You will also need to inform those who contact you regarding money owed, refund request and when to expect communication from you.

Here are some PAID Options:

1. If your business outsources, such as a virtual assistant set up a plan with your VA to cover emergencies. As in the case of the FREE option of a family or friend helping out, you will have more security knowing your paid help will get the job done and done right. With working with a VA, they already know your business enough to adapt to a little more work should you need them too.
2. If you have a business partner, this is one beauty of security. Offering them 100% of the profits during the time you need them to take over your part of the business is invaluable. Your partner knows the ins and outs of the business.

Some people do sell tangible items. In the cases of making your own products that you fill and ship yourself, if you have no helper, then inform your customers of the situation through one of these methods mentioned above and offer refunds should the customer not want to wait.

What do you do if you have nothing in place? Well thankfully in this day and age most of us can access the internet from our phones. The first thing you should do and as soon as you can is to contact the most important contacts. Those would be anyone who’s purchased from you; you owe money and consultants if you have a direct sales business.

If that is not an option then at your earliest convenience contact everyone, offer refunds, pay outstanding business, briefly explain the situation and apologize. Do what you can do to make it right.

There are some emergencies that will take you completely offline, been there had to do that in 2005. I made sure my businesses went into good hands and only informed my partners who took over of the situation. It was rough, there were many loose ends and a few bumps getting refunds out, access to websites to move etc. Had I not done that, took in the consideration of my clients and customers my name would still be smeared today.

It is so important that your business is prepared for an emergency. Although most work at home moms understand, we can’t pretend all do. Business must be treated like business; to expect it to become personal when an emergency arises is unprofessional. So get prepared and stay prepared.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

This article was written by Christa Jensen AKA Chrissy from www.eccentricwahm.com. Chrissy writes short short stories, poetry, articles and content. You can read more of her writings at www.workingmomwrites.com.

This article may be reprinted for free so long as the author’s resource box is kept intact and all links remain live and clickable. The Article Source must also be included. All rights are reserved by the author.

It should be obvious that a person should finish up one project before moving on to another one, but it’s not always clear cut. With many of wahms running more than one website or business it is almost inevitable not to have more than one project going on at any given moment. It is not unheard of that many juggle multiple projects successfully and without falter.

How does one figure out if they are working on too many projects?

Here are some simple questions to help you figure that out:

1. Are you behind in getting emails out? Correspondence’s times lacking? Email backed up and getting worse?
2. Where have you networked this week? Have you networked this week?
3. Are you working without the stress of I must get this done now feeling?

Did you answer yes to any of these questions? If you have, then it is time to rethink your work load. Here is a lis of what you can do to free up your time to do those important tasks.

* Make a list of the most important projects, finish those first and schedule the others for completion.
* Hire a virtual assistant to take on some of your projects.

Did you answer no to all of the questions? Really? Well then you are good to go, you don’t have too many projects or your super WAHM.

Just remember, with each new idea for a project to jot it down in your organizer and revisit it when you have the time. If it is something you think you can implement today make sure it does not infringe on other areas of your business. Finally if and when you find your self buried in projects, simple solutions can free you from overworking yourself, under marketing and a whole list of other things that come from taking on too much.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

This article was written by Christa Jensen AKA Chrissy from www.eccentricwahm.com. Chrissy writes short short stories, poetry, articles and content. You can read more of her writings at www.workingmomwrites.com.

This article may be reprinted for free so long as the author’s resource box is kept intact and all links remain live and clickable. The Article Source must also be included. All rights are reserved by the author.

Twitter is a site for sending out information to your “followers” in 140 characters or less. Facebook is a place to connect with people in your industry and your target market. LinkedIn is where you can network with other professionals in your industry.

Setting up profiles and updating your tweets and statuses on these sites can be overwhelming to someone who has never done that before. It can be very time consuming. Knowing what type of information to post as tweets and updates can be difficult to figure out.

It is important to get to know your friends and followers before asking them to buy from you. The best way to do that is to interact with them and post information that is relevant to their needs and problems. That way they learn more about you and come to know, like and trust you.

Building relationships on social media is key to growing your business. People who know you are more likely to visit your site and blog to see what you have to offer. Then they will feel comfortable purchasing from you, too. Once you establish relationships with the people in your social network, you can begin promoting your products and services as well as those of others you believe in.

One way to make all of this work without overwhelming you and consuming all of your time is to outsource various pieces to a Virtual Assistant. A VA can set up your accounts with the personal information you provide about yourself, your business and your industry. Once the sites are set up, your Virtual Assistant can grow your followers and friends, schedule informative posts, and retweet others in your network.

While your Virtual Assistant builds your presence, you can take the time to interact with your friends and followers and answer your private messages. Your time is only spent connecting with your target market and not on all the other time-consuming tasks of social media.

If you are ready to join the social media revolution, talk to a Virtual Assistant today. They can help you get up and running in no time. Then you can network and get to know the people you want to have as your ideal clients.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Sophie Zollmann of SophieZo Virtually There For You is a Virtual Assistant committed to working with online entrepreneurs to increase their productivity and income potential. She provides virtual assistance in blog/email/social media management, schedule management, proofreading, article submission, social bookmarking, dictation/transcription, customer service, data entry, research and much more. Find out more at sophiezo.com.

This article may be reprinted for free so long as the author’s resource box is kept intact and all links remain live and clickable. The Article Source must also be included. All rights are reserved by the author.

Knowing and understanding what is really involves in creating a successful home based business is the root to all success stories. They knew what needed to be done to make it a success and they ‘never gave up’. They failed their way to the top! I know that may sound silly but it is the most truthful, inspiring saying out there. If you really look deep into what it means and how it can help you in all aspects of your life and especially your Home Based Business you will benefit in many ways. Understanding this important aspect of life is educating yourself with personal growth and development. Writer and Success Coach, Jeff Olson describes and educates very well on this subject in his book The Slight Edge, Secret to a Successful Life. He teaches how consistent actions daily throughout your life is what brings you success. How failing over and over again is actually just that one step closer to success. How never giving up will bring you to your goal and dream. It is not the How To book but the what to do to make those How To’s successful.

With that said, also understanding the basic steps that integrate into a successful home based business will help you tremendously before you actually get out there and work it. Many (including myself) learned this the hard way, after spending years searching, money lost and wasted time we finally realized what it really takes to work from home. But you now have the opportunity to not repeat our mistakes, learn from what we did and grow from it. Find that one person that is where you want to be and follow in their footsteps, do what they do.

Here are the TOP 5 Tips to remember before starting your Home Based Business:

1. Personal Growth… Always work on personal growth daily, this will teach you to stay positive and focused when growing your business. As we will have many obstacles and walls we face while growing it. This will keep you on the right track to knowing what you are doing each day will help you grow, even if it is not happening as quickly as you want it to.

2. Numbers Game… When working online and offline marketing you must remember it is a numbers game. You have to be consistent daily and you must put in the numbers. Quanity will bring the quality. The more you plant your seeds the more response you will get, which leads to more enrollments and orders.

3. Time Consuming… Remember, when working online or offline for free it is time consuming. You are going to have to invest either way. So if you are working for free you will invest time. If you can invest into leads and advertising it will of course be less time consuming as you are investing money to bring the results.

4. Be Open Minded… You must be willing to always grow with the times and keep open mind to learning new things consistently as it will always be changing and growing. A great way to get to a good amount of prospects quickly is through online marketing. Which is a huge benefit to growing your business successfully. So you will want to always try new things and new popular ways of working online.

5. Educate Yourself, so you can Educate Others… Take the time daily to research and learn about working from home and how you can educate your prospects when they have questions or are looking for a “Home Job” verses a Home Business. This is very beneficial to your prospect and yourself as it shows knowledge and experience. It will then in return allow you to enroll more prospects as when they say “I Want a Home Job” you can then educate them instead of blessing and releasing.

As above, remember to “fail your way to the top” and “never give up”. Take this time to really implement these tips into building your business and over time you will see the results. We believe in you… Now it is time for YOU to believe in you! Happy Prospecting!

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Jennifer May is a proud work-from-home Mom with Ameriplan® and also is the Founder/Owner of The WAHM Guide. She has experienced years of searching for work from home and is now successful from that experience. She has made it her goal and purpose to help as many as she can work from home successfully. She has a passion for helping others and changing lives! She shares extensive resources, listings, knowledge, advice and tips including legitimate work at home job and businesses in her Work from Home Mom Website www.TheWAHMGuide.com. You can learn more about Jennnifer and what brought her home full time at www.HomeCareerAndFreedom.com.

This article may be reprinted for free so long as the author’s resource box is kept intact and all links remain live and clickable. The Article Source must also be included. All rights are reserved by the author.

I am not quite sure what has happened but some place has frozen over. And, for that matter, somebody is ice-skating in you know where.

I know that I have been colder in the past but I am the kind of person that does not want to look to the past. I am as forward looking a person, as you will ever find. I have no desire to compete with something that happened in years gone by. With that being said let me just say that this past week has set a new low for my body temperature.

I started shivering two weeks ago and at last count, I am still shivering. If there were some kind of record for shivering, I would come quite close to the championship. How long can a person really shiver before it takes an adverse toll on his body?

My teeth are chattering and I feel like a pirate of bygone days shivering me timbers. Let me say, my timbers have never shivered so much in my entire life.

Fifteen years ago, I moved to Florida to get away from all this shivering malarkey. Now, here I set, huddled around a space heater trying to keep warm. I am not quite sure which will last longer, the space heater or my sanity. I am thinking of suing the governor for false advertising. After all, he keeps calling it the sunshine State and I just want to see a little sunshine.

My little grey cells need plenty of warmth to operate in their accustomed proficiency. As it stands now, both of them are huddled together to keep from freezing. I am tempted to eat some ice cream really fast and give them brain freeze… but I am too cold for that.

It is not that I cannot handle the cold. I cannot tell you how many times I had to endure a cold shoulder when visiting. If I had collected all those cold shoulders throughout the years, I could start my own freezer business. So, I am accustomed to cold shoulders. To be quite honest and forthright, I have administered my share of cold shoulders. I am not boasting, mind you, but nobody can give the cold shoulder as well as Yours Truly.

Also, I have familiarized myself to the definite icy stare from the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, which is a little confusing for me. When we are out in public and she gives me the “icy stare,” I know I am in hot water. I can never understand how her icy stare can produce so much hot water for me. Quite frankly, I could use some of that hot water right now.

It was about this time my wife made a comment that did not quite set well with me. Giving me one of her infamous icy stares, she cooed, “Given all your hot air I can’t imagine you being so cold.”

Ha ha ha ha. If it were not so frosty, I would give her a hot retort. All I can do we shiver sarcastically.

I do not know what happened but her comment jarred a few grey cells that were not frozen. I began to see a little correlation with the winter. Maybe it was just Jack Frost nipping at my nose, but I began to see a developing conspiracy.

I think I know the reason for the freezing weather we have been having. I lay the blame for all of the subzero weather at the feet of politicians. After all, the more they talk about global warming the colder it becomes.

Look at a few facts. Not too long ago there was a special conference on global warming in Washington DC. The day of the conference produced a record blizzard for the city of Washington DC. Then they go to Copenhagen and the very same thing happened there. Politicians are not too good at connecting dots.

By putting two and two together I am coming up with a politician. After all, a politician in the hand is better than trying to find one in the bush. Behind all of this freezing weather are politicians promoting global warming. The more these politicians talks about global warming the colder it gets.

I am not a rocket scientist, although I blew a cork once, but there seems to be some relationship here. Of course, I can understand where the politician gets the idea of global warming with all the hot air in Washington DC. After all, all that hot air does have an effect on the politicians.

A politician will get behind the microphone in freezing weather and pontificate on the subject of global warming. “The biggest problem,” he says as though he has a thought in his head, “is global warming.” His solution for global warming is, as all his solutions are, raise the taxes.

By jolly, I am getting a little hot under the collar. In fact, the more I think about this the more steamed I am.

Wait a minute! Maybe the politician is right. The more he talks the hotter I get. Maybe that is the global warming he is talking about.

I think of the promise of God gave Noah. “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22 KJV).

God’s promises are not just hot air.

The Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL 34472. He lives with his wife, Martha, in Silver Springs Shores. Call him at 352-687-4240 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. The church web site is www.whatafellowship.com.

What Exactly Is A Blog?

A “blog” is short for “weblog”, which is the term that was coined for an online journal or “log”. A blog is something entirely of your own creation and you can use it to express your personal thoughts and opinions, or to share business news such as events and special promotions.

So, How Do I Get Started?

The easiest way is to use one of the free tools available online, such as Google’s Blogger. You can create your blog – free of charge – using their online tools and templates. After you have created the blog, you can customize it to fit your needs, start creating posts and “Wa-La” – your blog is posted online for the world to see.

For business use, however, it’s important to consider having your blog directly on your business website. This way, when your website visitors read your blog they stay on your website. Or, if they find your blog through a search engine, they have instant access to the rest of your website. This may take some work and may involve a small investment to have a web designer sit up, but in the long run the benefits will outweigh the cost.

How Will People Find My Blog?

There are many ways to get your blog noticed. For instance, there are entire websites devoted to listing blogs dedicated to any topic that you can think of. One of the best such websites devoted to women-created blogs, is BlogHer.com.

You can also use free tools such a FeedBurner.com to track the traffic on your blog and to create a dynamic title box that can be used to display your blog headlines on the main page of your website or even in your email signature. Each time you update your blog, these headlines are instantly updated.

If you are blogging in the hopes of attracting customers, make sure to use wise use of words and links in your blogs. Make a list of keywords that your target market may be using when performing web searches. When possible, use a few of these keywords in the text of your blogs. It’s important to note that you don’t want to over-saturate your blog posts with keywords, but instead use them here-and-there throughout your blog.

To Sum It All Up

There are many ways to use a blog for business and marketing purposes. If used correctly, a blog can be a terrific tool to inform potential customers of your business. Be sure to update your blog on a regular basis so that the content remains fresh. By following these simple techniques you’ll be well on your way to blogging success.

About the Author:
Jill Hart is the founder of Christian Work at Home Moms, CWAHM.com. Jill is a co-author of So You Want To Be a Work-at-Home Mom and has articles published across the web on sites like DrLaura.com, MOPS.com and MomLogic.com. Jill welcomes work-at-home questions at http://AskJill.cwahm.com. Learn more about working from home at http://www.cwahm.com/work-at-home/.

Unfortunately, some offers are not what they say they are. Have you heard “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”? You should always beware of the offers that sound too good to be true.

When you find the right work at home business, you can’t wait to start. The task is to stay with it. You will not be successful overnight. It takes dedication, hard work, and commitment to get your business off the ground.

It can be disheartening when it seems nothing is happening with your business. Just remember, if you stick with it, things will pick up and you will be grateful that you remained committed. But how do you stay motivated so you can build a successful business?

Think of the future. Have you created short and long term goals for yourself? Do you hope for more time with your family, financial freedom, and security? Write your goals down and refer to them daily. Then you’ll always know why you started your work at home business. Once you reach your goals, won’t all the hard work be worth it?

Spending more time with family is a great motivational factor when starting a business working from home. Remember, you need to take the time to get your business up and running successfully. Eventually you will spend less time on your business and more time with your family.

Financial freedom and security are the ultimate end results of a work at home business. Imagine being able to save for your children’s education, buy a house, take vacations, work less and play more. Not worrying about money is a goal most people have.

Finally, although it may not seem like anything is happening in your business that, in fact, may not be the case. For instance, when you work an online business and you are submitting articles, you are creating back links to your site which may not be beneficial immediately. The more links you have, the more traffic you will get. With time, this traffic will lead to increased success for you and your business.

With your own work at home business, you can choose when you work, who you work with, where you work and how much time you spend working. You will spend time making yourself rich rather than someone else. So why not work for yourself, earn money for yourself and set your own schedule with a work at home business?!

About the Author:
Cathy Spracklin is an International Home Business Trainer who teaches and trains others to become successful in their own home business. If you want information about a successful home business opportunity, visit: www.FreedomSuccess4u.com. Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

A personal ad is designed to be a short, attention grabbing description of who you are and what you’re looking for. To work well, they’ve got to be honest and to the point.

Most start with a few key facts about the seeker (relationship status, ethnicity, gender, age, location) and who they’re seeking (relationship status, ethnicity, gender, age, location). Throw in some details about interests, hobbies, or general life experiences. State any specifics about who you definitely aren’t interested in. Add your contact information. You’ve got yourself a personal ad.

Just like a personal ad express who you are and who you’re looking for, your marketing should help you do the same. Not everyone is your ideal target. You’re not the ideal business to serve everyone. Acknowledge that, and you’ll be a step ahead on your marketing. It’s important to know who you *aren’t* looking for, as well as who you *are* looking for.

Now, It’s time to write a personal ad for your business!

1) Describe Your Business. Who is your business? What does your business offer? In 1 or 2 sentences describe what service you provide or products you sell.

2) Ideal Customer. Who is your ideal customer? Imagine the perfect customer in detail–gender, age, marital status, children, occupation, interests, etc. If you have trouble with this step, look over your customer/client list and think about the ones who were wonderful to work with or who gained the most from your services.

3) Get Specific, Succinctly. If you had to pick three of the top results customers/clients gain by doing business with you, what would they be? Think results, not features. A good place to look if you get stuck is to the testimonials and thank you notes customers/clients send. What do they mention most often about their experiences with your business?

4) Skip Me If… Some customers/clients can be better served by another business. Who are they? This isn’t necessarily something you want to mention in your advertising, but it’s something you definitely want to keep in mind so you don’t advertise or market in the wrong places.

5) Please Call. How can customers/clients make contact with you? Offer easy options to reach you for business!

One more thought–a common joke about personal ads is the exaggeration that often happens – while it’s okay to accentuate the positive, never over-promise or be dishonest when describing what you offer or the results you or your products help deliver. Focus on building long-term customer relationships so that customers not only purchase once (and leave disappointed like the blind date that just wasn’t what you expected) but become regulars who also refer friends and family.

When you’ve finished writing a “personal ad” for your business with these five steps you’ll have a short and sweet reminder that will help you focus your marketing efforts in the right places to get results and help more of the right people. Next time you aren’t sure if a marketing strategy or opportunity is right, read over your ad and see if you’re reaching the right people in the right place.

About the Author:
Find Michelle Shaeffer online at The Small Business Muse where she shares weekly tips and strategies for small businesses in The Muses Brainstorm. Stop by The Muses Guide for inspirational guides to help your small business grow. Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

New Year’s Day was filled with lots of excitement, plenty of grandchildren running around and enough food on the table to eliminate world hunger. Actually, it did eliminate my ravishing hunger, at least for the day.

Both the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and Yours Truly simultaneously signed a deep sigh. My wife sat in her chair thinking and I, reclining in my chair musing. Believe me, we both had a lot to think about and muse over.

The difference between thinking and musing is quite profound. Thinking requires a lot of hard work while musing is closely related to amusing, although I am not quite sure about the connection. All I know is it takes less energy to muse than it does to think and I’m all for saving energy.

I had just gotten into a rather delightful muse when my wife made a very startling announcement.

“Well,” she said most thoughtfully, “I guess this is the start of a brand-new year.”

I was too deep into my muse to do more than grunt affirmatively.

Then I began to think, which sapped me of a lot of energy at the time. Although my wife was not wrong in her observation (she is never wrong about anything) she was not exactly right. However, being the man of the house, not to mention not having enough energy to put up a good front, I did not call her on it. But I thought on it some more.

Everybody says this is a new year that has never been lived before. And I would like to challenge that kind of thinking. I have an eerie feeling that I have been here before.

I am not sure if my muse got mixed up with my thinking but at the end of the exercise, I came to several startling conclusions. The biggest conclusion is there is nothing new about the New Year.

Do not take my word for it, do some thinking on your own. Okay, it’s a little too early in the year to do heavy thinking so maybe some light musing might be more in order.

If I remember correctly, and I must check last year’s calendar, but wasn’t it January last year at this time? In fact, I think for the past couple thousand years there has always been a January. Nothing new about January. In my lifetime, I have seen 58 Januarys. At the time, everybody said it was new. What I want to know is, when does the newness wear off? When is somebody going to stand up and honestly say, “Welcome to another old year.”

Every time I have a birthday, people tell me I am a year older, but when another January comes around people try to tell me it is new. I think this year I am going to insist on my birthday that people tell me I am getting newer and not older.

Then, just as my muse was catching a second wind, I thought of some other inconsistencies about this so-called New Year hoax.

If I remember correctly, last January there were seven days in a week; Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. What I find rather strange is this new January has the same old days of the week. This is rather curious to me. Somebody is trying to sell me some old horse medicine for tea.

Now, if the year 2010 is supposed to be a new year why does it carry over the same old luggage of the old year? I think I smell a conspiracy here.

For example, if you went to buy a brand-new 2010 car, you opened the door, the hood and the trunk and everything was from a 2009 car, wouldn’t you feel a little bit cheated? I know I would.

Not only does this so-called new January have the same days of the week, and you are not going to believe this one, it also carries the same numbers of the days. And, these numbers are still in the same order as it did in January 2009.

I believe there should be a Congressional investigation into this rather serious hoax being played on the American people. After all, if someone promises something to be new, and brand-new at that, it should be downright new.

I think I go along with Solomon, the wisest man in the world, who said, “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9 KJV).

This so-called “New Year,” is simply the “Old Year” repackaged for the unsuspecting. For some people it will take six months into the “New Year” before they realize this awesome truth.

People make New Year’s resolutions, which are simply the old resolutions from the year before. Some of them go back decades. Nothing really changes. By the time February, which is the same February as last year, rolls around those new resolutions are tainted with some serious aging.

But there is a greater than Solomon that I appealed to. He said, “And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful” (Revelation 21:5 KJV).

I will leave the creation of “new,” to the one who knows how to make all things new.

The Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL 34472. He lives with his wife, Martha, in Silver Springs Shores. Call him at 352-687-4240 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. The church web site is www.whatafellowship.com.

After setting up your account, you search for people who would be in your target market and follow them. You may also follow others in your industry to network and share ideas. Once you have done that, you begin sharing information about you, your business, and any other information of value to your target market.

Here are 5 tips to keep in mind when using social media:

1. Be real. Present the real you to your target market. With all the information available on the web today, a simple search on Google can lead people to all kinds of information about you. Be honest and genuine in everything you send out.

2. Engage people. Most consumers buy from people they know, like and trust. Engage in conversations with your followers to help them get to know you better. Build a relationship with them before you try to sell anything.

3. Provide valuable content. People want to learn about you and what you do. They need to know how you can solve their problem. If you provide valuable, informative content, they will be interested in learning more.

4. Retweet others. Always be on the look out for other information your followers will find interesting. By retweeting other’s content, you build a relationship with them. They can then retweet your information in return. Reciprocity is an important part of social networking.

5. Minimize sharing your personal life. The idea is for people to get to know you. However, that does not mean they want to know everything you do every minute of every day. If someone asks how you are doing, answer them honestly but do not rant on about everything, good or bad, going on in your life. They don not need to know when you eat, what you eat, when you brush your teeth, etc.

Social media is a great way to network and market your business. It is easy to use and fun, too. Take time to think about what your goal is and how you want to present yourself. Then get out there and make it happen. Just remember to be real, engage others, provide value, retweet and minimize the personal information you share.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Sophie Zollmann of SophieZo Virtually There For You is a Virtual Assistant committed to working with online entrepreneurs to increase their productivity and income potential. She provides virtual assistance in blog/email/social media management, schedule management, proofreading, article submission, teleseminar co-hosting, dictation/transcription, customer service, data entry, research and much more. Find out more at sophiezo.com.

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If we look at history, more millionaires were made during The Great Depression than any other time in US history and during our last recession in the early 90s many companies still thriving today were born, like Clif Bar.

There are numerous reasons why starting a business now is advantageous, but these are the top five.

1. Increased Opportunities
Anytime the economy changes or a new technology is introduced it creates opportunities in different fields. While some industries are shrinking, others are exploding. For example, while Chrysler is claiming bankruptcy because their gas-guzzling vehicles have become irrelevant, a San Diego-based company, Jitterbug, who produces simplistic cell phones with extra large numbers on them designed for the elderly is hiring and growing at breakneck speed.

2. Less Competition
In the first two months of 2009 the Department of Labor reported that over 800,000 small businesses closed. I can guarantee that these were businesses that may have been barely making it when the economy was flush and when the recession began they realized they did not have the proper infrastructure, their overhead was too high or their business model was flawed. These closures create a lot of space for smart new business owners to open and serve their customers.

In addition, many companies have cut their advertising budgets to lower costs which can give the public the perception of fewer businesses offering the same products and services as yours. The perception of less competition allows you to stand out and strongly establish your brand.

3. Decreased Trust
Let’s face it, the big companies melting down faster than Chernobyl this past year have withered the public’s trust. It’s become obvious that large corporations are not looking out for their employees and many didn’t even look ahead enough to protect themselves. Whenever the big businesses that people have equated with security go belly up, it creates a fear-based marketplace. First, people contract and don’t buy at all. Then they start wanting to buy, but look to do business with people they know and trust.

People who purchased their lotions and body wash at the mall are now more open to purchasing from their Mary Kay consultant. It feels good to them to know that the money they spend with someone they know helps out that family.

4. Discounted Resources
With many companies cutting back, businesses want to maintain cash flow so they are often willing to discount their services or products or offer longer payment terms than in the past. These options help a new business owner’s startup funds go farther.

One area these discounted resources should definitely be capitalized on is in the advertising market. Several larger companies that ate up available ad space have lowered their ad budgets, not only creating space for smaller companies to come in, but creating open ad space that publications, radio and TV stations need to sell. Many of these outlets will negotiate if asked. One of my clients got two ads for the price of one. These bargains allow business owners to make more of an impact for less money and to stand out while others are fading back.

5. Control of Your Future
Having a job is like putting all your eggs in one basket and then handing it over to a clumsy kid to carry. You have no control over whether you will get laid off, have your pay cut, have benefits taken away, have your hours lowered, etc. You have one line of revenue and if the powers you report to decide to cut that off, there’s nothing you can do. No matter how many hours or how hard you work, in most cases your salary stays the same.

None of the above has to be true if you own your own business. You can build a business model that allows for multiple streams of income so if one dries up, you still have the others. You control the amount of income you make because you are in charge of pricing and how much and how hard you work. You create your eggs and then you carry the basket yourself.

About The Author:
(c) 2009, Leah Grant Enterprises LLC. Publication rights granted so long as article and byline are reprinted intact with all links made live.
Will you be one of the millionaires who create their success during this recession? You could be! The timing is right. Get the info you need to launch a profitable venture in the New Business Mentor Leah Grant’s free success kit including a timely special report and audio Secrets of Successful Business Owners at www.leahgrant.com. Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

The tool that is critical to your marketing success is a marketing tracking system. Simply put, you need to track your marketing efforts to determine the ROI (return on investment). The return on investment is a simple equation:

Sales (or profit) divided by marketing investment

Every marketing endeavor needs to be analyzed to find out what works and what doesn’t. That way you don’t waste money and time on something that isn’t profitable for you. The minimum return on investment should be 2 to 1. That way you at least cover the costs of the marketing effort.

For example: 3 month ad on a website costs $25 per month, so total investment = $75. That ad generates four sales, which is $196 in retail product and $96 in profit.

Sales ROI: $196 sales divided by $75 investment = 2.6
Profit ROI: $96 profit divided by $75 investment = 1.3

Both calculations are important because you need to determine the sales ROI because it can lead to repeat business, and the profit ROI is important because you need to know if you covered your costs.

So, should you advertise on this website again?

The answer is yes.

Marketing is not a one-time deal to see if you get some sales and then forget about it. You need to do a few things consistently to determine if it’s the right thing to do for your business. It’s recommended that you invest at least 3 months per marketing event, however, a minimum of six months is ideal.
Keep in mind when you place an ad anywhere, sometimes you need to look at the ad itself to see if it’s working.

Advertising and marketing are keys to a successful business and must be done consistently to achieve results. Tracking your efforts can help determine which venues can be continued, and which ones can be dropped. Sometimes it is better to focus on a few activities that generate sales versus spreading out over many activities and not get anything.

So what do you do if you haven’t been tracking your advertising and marketing expenses?

1. Don’t panic! It’s better to start now, then never start at all. The year is winding down, and it’s a great time to put something in place for 2010 to get started.

2. Make it simple! You can create a simple chart in Excel or some other program that will help you keep track of everything.

3. Make a list of all your expenses! Office supplies, demonstration supplies, samples, advertising, phone bills, etc. By making a list, you’ll have a good idea for what you are spending on a quarterly or yearly basis. This should be relatively easy with tax time coming up.

Running a successful business isn’t easy; it takes hard work and dedication. But, by having a few simple tools and tracking methods, you can make your business more successful and profitable than the year before.

About the Author:
Ivette Muller is a proud corporate mom dropout who has enjoyed transitioning her skills as a successful work at home mom. Ivette wants to help others fulfill their dreams of being a WAHM. Visit her website at www.wahmbahm.com for business advice and work at home opportunities and, www.remembergreetingcards.com/ivette, to learn how to start a profitable custom greeting card and gift home-based business. Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

In order to have a good marketing plan, you need to know who your target audience is. I have been in some form of direct sales for over 10 years and almost all companies give you a list of everyone and anyone you can sell the products to. They say that everyone can be a customer and give you all the great reasons you should show them your product.

While it is true that almost anyone with a pulse can be customer, that doesn’t provide a solid foundation for your marketing efforts. You need to pick one or two target audiences to get started. Once you do that, your target audience will naturally lead you to other potential customers through referrals and guests at their home parties.

No matter what home-based business you choose, you need to know who you are talking to. Who do you want to help with your product or services? Who do you want to share the opportunity with? Who do you want to interact with? Who is your ideal client?

Knowing this information will help you plan your marketing endeavors and your presentations. Remember, presenting your product or service is not a one size fits all approach. That’s why knowing your target audience is critical to your marketing success.

Here are 5 steps to get you started on your marketing plan:

1. Pick your target audience – while the information above goes into detail about why you need to pick your target audience, you also need to know how to pick your target audience. You need to be really specific, for example: WAHM, age 25-35, participates in social media. The reason you need to be specific is that it will help you choose your marketing endeavors more wisely. If this was your target audience, you wouldn’t place an ad in your local paper – you would advertise on one of the social networks where your ideal customer or client is hanging out.

2. What are your specific goals? It’s good to know that you want more sales, leads or recruits. But what exactly is your goal? Do you want $10,000 in sales over the next three months? How about 100 leads in 2 months? Or, 2 recruits in one month? Getting this specific helps you evaluate your performance and gives you ideas on how to change and improve for the next time.

3. What is your promotional vehicle? Decide what your primary focus of advertising and marketing will be. Then, assign some kind of code so that when people contact you, they can give you that code which will tell you how they heard about you. For example, if you place an ad on a website, you could put the code on the ad itself.

4. How will you track? Tracking is a necessary task to determine your effectiveness in marketing. By assigning a code to your advertisements, it will allow you to track where sales, leads and recruits are coming from, as well as allow you to accurately calculate the ROI (return on investment) for that advertisement.

5. What is your budget? Set a budget in advance and stick to it. It is so easy to go over your budget in advertising and marketing expenses when you get caught up in the momentum. That’s why tracking is critical to your success so that you can stop advertising or purchasing marketing tools if they are not working. Just because it works for someone else, doesn’t mean it’s the right thing for you to do.

If you haven’t had a detailed marketing plan before, now is a great time to start! Make 2010 the year to pull your marketing efforts together for one productive and profitable year!

About the Author:
Ivette Muller is a proud corporate mom dropout who has enjoyed transitioning her skills as a successful work at home mom. Ivette wants to help others fulfill their dreams of being a WAHM. Visit her website at www.wahmbahm.com for business advice and work at home opportunities and, www.remembergreetingcards.com/ivette, to learn how to start a profitable custom greeting card and gift, home-based business.
Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com